Alix Swann

3/10/17
Period 3
Compare the motives and evaluate the impact of the system of Trans Atlantic Export

Slavery and Modern Human Trafficking.

Even though Transatlantic Export Slavery legally ended in 1807, Modern Human

Trafficking is still occurring in every country in the world, and people are still being exploited

through it every day. The Transatlantic slave trade was the forced migration of 12 - 15 million

people from the continent of Africa to the Western Hemisphere. Human Trafficking is a modern

version of this, where people are sold or forced into labor, sexual slavery, or exploited for

domestic servitude for the benefit of the trafficker or other people. There are now twice as many

people enslaved in the world as there were in the 350 years of the transatlantic slave trade.

Although Modern Human Trafficking and Trans Atlantic Export Slavery occur in two starkly

different time periods, they possess some similarities in motives and their impacts.

Both Modern Human Trafficking and Trans Atlantic Export Slavery are are primarily

motivated by a need for a free service. The outcome of both of these is free labor, because

enslaved people are not compensated for their service. The only thing the enslaver provides are

basic amenities, such as food or water, and sometimes they do not even supply those. The profit

from the labor greatly outweighs the maintenance costs of the enslaved people. Another motive

Modern Human Trafficking and Trans Atlantic Export Slavery share is that they help the

economy. For Trans Atlantic Export Slavery; sugar, tobacco, and other products remained the

foundation of the economy for years to come. These products were produced by slaves, and the

enslavers gained the profit, without loss from having to compensate the laborers. As for Modern

Human Trafficking, the International Labor Organization estimates that forced labor and human
trafficking is a $150 billion industry worldwide. This is a huge asset to the economy, and it

makes profit for the enslavers. These motives, free labor and economic stability, are just a few of

the motives that Modern Human Trafficking and Trans Atlantic Export Slavery have in common.

A broader historical event that Modern Human Trafficking and Trans Atlantic Export Slavery

share commonalities with is using child soldiers for war. Child soldiers are used for fighting,

sexual acts, and as messengers-- all done without pay, similarly to Modern Human Trafficking

and Trans Atlantic Export Slavery. Child soldiers are often separated from their families as well.

Even though Modern Human Trafficking and Trans Atlantic Export Slavery share some

motives, there are also differences to account for. One difference in motives is that Modern

Human Trafficking victims are usually kidnapped. They are coerced by job scams with profound

promises, and are disappointed by the actual service they are performing, that results in little to

no pay. Slaves in Trans Atlantic Export Slavery were traded by African nobles to be sent to the

Americas to work in agriculture for their masters. These people were commonly Prisoners of

War (POWs) from the tribes of the nobles that they wanted to dispose of. Another motive that

was different for Modern Human Trafficking and Trans Atlantic Export Slavery is the people

enslaved for Modern Human Trafficking and Trans Atlantic Export Slavery. For Modern Human

Trafficking, more women and children are trafficked, because a huge industry in Modern Human

Trafficking is sex slavery. Women make up 55 to 60 percent of all cases, and are more than

detected victims (Villarreal). In addition to this, 50% of people trafficked are minors (Human

Trafficking Facts & Stats). Trans Atlantic Export Slavery focused more on trading for men.

Strong young men were the target group, because they had endurance to work in the fields in the

Americas. The adult male population in Africa decreased by approximately 20 percent during

Trans Atlantic Export Slavery (Slavery Fact Sheet).

 Both Modern Human Trafficking and Trans Atlantic Export Slavery had immense and

devastating impacts on the lives of the enslaved people. One impact they have in common is

familial separation. Trans Atlantic Slave traders did not care enough to keep families together

when they were brought over to the Americas, and often sold children to different families than

they sold their parents. With Modern Human Trafficking, one person is usually trafficked

somewhere else in the world, and they are not able to visit their families. Some are never able to

see their families again. Both of these forms of slavery had immense psychological impacts on

the victims. Owners use tactics such as beatings, emotional manipulation, and rape to break the

spirits of their enslaved people. This leaves the victims emotionally unstable, which can affect

their actions and moods.

In 1807, Congress passed an act that would prohibit the importation of slaves into any

port or place within the jurisdiction of the United Statesfrom any foreign kingdom, place, or

country (Congress Abolishes the African Slave Trade). This ended the legal trade of people

from Africa. Modern Human Trafficking is still occurring, although in most places it is not legal.

The similarities in motives and impacts of Trans Atlantic Export Slavery to Modern Human

Trafficking should make Modern Human Trafficking less difficult to dismantle, but there are also

extreme differences at play that make the task more daunting.

Works Cited

Congress Abolishes the African Slave Trade. Histoey, www.history.com/this-day-in-

history/congress-abolishes-the-african-slave-trade.
Human Trafficking Facts & Stats. Force 4 Compassion, www.f-4-

c.org/slavery/facts.asp.

Slavery Fact Sheet. Digital History, www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?

smtID=11&psid=3807.

Villarreal, Ryan. Women Account For Bulk of Human Trafficking Cases: UN Report.

International Business Times, www.ibtimes.com/women-account-bulk-human-

trafficking-cases-un-report-1080668.